Four Four Points From Turtle Island 

We don’t believe in anything blindly and we don’t allow ourselves to be blind followers. We question everything and every action we take. Here are 4 sections of 4 points that take us from the very basic belief that there is a Creator to the way we do everything in our lives.

Go to point: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13 14 15 16

 

	SECTION 1
1.	Everyone is born knowing things like hot, cold, big and small. That knowledge is called Ilmu Zaruri (necessary knowledge). The other kind of knowledge is Ilmu Nazari (the observed knowledge). With the necessary knowledge (Ilmu Zaruri) that everyone is born with, everyone knows that there is a Creator and if we look at all people, everyone on earth worships something.
2.	There are two kinds of religions on earth: polytheistic and monotheistic. Polytheistic religions say that there is more than one deity. If there was more than one deity then the deity of each thing would eventually take its property to itself. The deity of trees would take the trees to itself and the deity of water would take the water to itself and so on. We would see the creation go apart. Instead we see the Creation in perfect order which means there is only one Creator. That rules out the polytheistic religions and takes us to monotheistic religions.
3.	The monotheistic religions on earth are three: Yahudiyah, Nasraniyah and Islam. At first all people in the monotheistic faith were one religion (Islam) and they had Musa with the Tawrah come to them. Then Isa with the Injil came to them and some accepted him while others rejected him and created a new religion Yahudiyah. Then after Isa, came Prophet Muhammed Salallahu Aleyhi wa Sallam with the Qur’an, some accepted him while others rejected him and created a new religion Nasraniyah. From that we know that we aren’t supposed to go with newly created religions, but that we have to accept all the Prophets and to accept Islam and follow Prophet Muhammed Salallahu Aleyhi wa Sallam.
4.	All Prophets had Miracles (Mujizah) that showed people that they were truly Prophets. Musa came to the magicians of the Pharaoh and when Musa showed them a real stick turn into a real snake, the magicians clearly understood that it was a Mujizah and that Musa was a Prophet. Then when Isa came to the Yahud, who were great physicians, he healed sick and impaired people with the touch of his hand. The Yahud clearly understood that it was a Mujizah and that Isa was a Prophet. Prophet Muhammed Salallahu Aleyhi wa Sallam came to Arabs that were great poets. When Prophet Muhammed Salallahu Aleyhi wa Sallam told them the Verses from the Qur’an they clearly understood that it was the Words from Allah Ta’Ala, a Mujizah, not human text. Not one letter can be taken out from the Qur’an without it showing that there is a letter missing. Not one letter can be put into the Qur’an without it showing that it doesn’t belong there and nothing can be written equal to any part of the Qur’an. The Miracles of previous Prophets are not with us today, but the Miracle of our Prophet Muhammed Salallahu Aleyhi wa Sallam, the Qur’an, is with us and it cannot be altered.
	SECTION 2
5.	In the Qur’an Allah Ta’Ala Says that He Sent with the Holy Books that the Prophets brought, also a Hikmah. Hikmah in Arabic means wisdom and the person who can speak the Arabic of the Qur’an can understand that here the Hikmah that came with the Holy Books, is the way that the Prophets applied the knowledge of the Holy Books, which is the Sunnah (Sunnah in Arabic means way).
6.	We have the Qur’an with us and no one can alter the Qur’an, but we ask ourselves where is the Sunnah that was Given by Allah Ta’Ala to our Prophet and that he brought to us along with the Qur’an. In Surah Hijr in Ayah 9 Allah Ta’Ala Says that He is Protecting the Zikr; which in Arabic means remembrance and the person who can speak the Arabic of the Qur’an can understand that here the word Zikr means the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Prophet Muhammed Salallahu Aleyhi wa Sallam taught the Qur’an and Sunnah to his companions - Allah be Pleased with them (Sahabah- Radiallahu Anhum). In the Qur’an Allah Ta’Ala Said that He is Pleased with them, meaning that they are reliable and that they don’t make false statements. The Sahabah Radiallahu Anhum taught the Qur’an and Sunnah to the next generation, the Tabaiin and said about the Tabaiin that they are reliable and that they don’t make false statements. The Tabaiin taught the Qur’an and Sunnah to the next generation the Taba-tabaiin and they said that the Taba-tabaiin are reliable and that they don’t make false statements. Then the Taba-tabaiin taught the Qur’an and Sunnah to the scholars, Ulema, in the next generation and said that they are reliable and that they don’t make false statements. The scholars, Ulema, taught the Qur’an and Sunnah to the next generations of Ulema and said that they are reliable and that they don’t make false statements. To this day we have the Ulema who are cleared by the Ulema before them as reliable and as ones who don’t make false statements. That way the Qur’an and the authentic Sunnah has been protected and conveyed to us.
7.	The Ulema teach us Allah Ta'Ala’s Religion through Lessons such as the following: (1) Aqueedah which means belief, (2) Fikh for beginners which is learning how to do basic deeds such as Wudu and Salah, (3) Qur’an, (4) Hadith, things that the Prophet said, did, approved by being silent about and his characteristics both ethical and physical, (5) Sirah which is the life of the Prophet Salallahu Aleyhi wa Sallam, (6) Mustalahu l’Hadith, terminology of the Hadith, which is how to get to the authentic Hadith, (7) Usulu Fikh, fundamentals of deriving Fikh, (8) Usulu Tafsir, fundamentals of deriving the explanations of the Qur’an, Tafsir, (9) Jarh wa Taadil, which is learning about the narrators of the Hadith, (10) Nahu, grammer, (11) Sarf, the knowledge of suffixes, (12) Balaghah, clarity in speech and writing, (13) Fikh at higher levels, (14) Tafsir.
8.	The most important of all the lessons is Aqueedah, learning the proper belief. In our first lessons in Aqueedah we have to learn three basics and the four fundamentals. The three basics are: (1)Allah Ta’Ala Created us and he didn’t Create us for no reason. He Created us to worship Him and He Sent us a Prophet to guide us. Who follows the Prophet will go to Jennah (Heaven) and who disobeys him will go to Jehennem (the Fire) and if anyone says that a person who isn’t Muslim will go to Jennah then that person is a Kafir and will go to Jehennem forever.  (2) Allah Ta’Ala doesn’t forgive Shirk (setting up partners with Him) not even with a Prophet Sent by Him nor with a Malik (angel) close to Him. (3). We Muslims never give Wala’a to Kufar; Wala’a is Tasdiq, saying that they are right in their beliefs and Nasr, helping them with their beliefs and that is clear in The Qur’an in Surah Mujadilah in Ayah 22: [You will not see people believing in Allah and the Last Day loving (befriending) those who reject Allah and His Prophet even if they were their parents or children or brothers or kindred…]. The four fundamentals are: (1) Ilm (knowledge), (2) Amal (deeds) upon that knowledge, (3) Dawah (call) inviting people to the Ilm and Amal, (4) Sabr (patience) on all the difficulties on that Path. The Evidence is in Surah Asr [By Time. All mankind is at loss (in the Fire). Except those who believe, and do good deeds and help each other with the Truth and help each other with patience.] Knowledge precedes actions because in the Qur’an in Surah Muhammed in Ayah 19 Allah Ta’Ala Says: [Know that there is no diety worthy of worship other than Allah, then ask forgiveness for your sins…] Allah Ta’Ala here Proceeded in the Ayah with knowledge before the deed.
	SECTION 3
9.	Knowledge, Ilm, is to know how to answer to the three questions that we will be asked in the grave. The first question is: "Who is your Rab?" the second question is: "What is your Din?" The third question is: "Who is your Prophet?" The answer to the three questions is in the answer to the question asking what our Religion, our Din, is. Our Din is Islam and it has 3 circles. The outer most circle is Islam and it is the actions of 5 things; the 5 pillars of Islam: Saying the Shahadah, doing Salah, giving Zakah, fasting Ramadan and going to Hajj if able to do so. The second circle which is in the circle of Islam is Iman, belief in 6 things; the 6 pillars of Iman are: belief in Allah, in His Malaika (angels), in His Books, in His Prophets, in the Last Day and in Qadr (fate) be it good or bad. The third circle, which is the smaller circle within Iman, is Ihsan. Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him and you don’t see Him but you know that He sees you all the time and that is the strongest Iman. With good deeds our Iman grows and with bad deeds it shrinks.
10.	The opposite of Islam is Shirk (setting up partners with Allah). Shirk has 3 parts: The first part is big Shirk which is 4 things: (1) Shirk in prayer and the Evidence is in Surah Ankabut in Ayah 65, (2) Shirk in intention and the Evidence is in Surah Hud in Ayat 15 and 16, (3) Shirk in obedience and the Evidence is in Surah Tawbah in Ayah 9, (4) Shirk in love and the Evidence is in Surah Bakarah in Ayah 165. The second part is small Shirk and it is to show off and the Evidence is in Surah Kahf in Ayah 110. The third part of Shirk is the hidden Shirk and it is to make Allah Ta’Ala’s Wish equal with someone else's wish. The Evidence is in the authentic Hadith recorded by Imam Hakim which says that Prophet Muhammed Salallahu Aleyhi wa Sallam said that among his people (the ones he was sent to, us) Shirk is hidden like the movement of an ant on a black rock. The Sahabah Abdullah ibn Abbas Radiallahu Anhu (Allah be Pleased with him) explained that it’s like when a person says: "If it wasn’t for Allah and so and so…" instead one saying, "If it wasn’t for Allah and then so and so…"
11.	The opposite of Iman is Kufr (disbelief in Allah). Kufr has two major parts, big Kufr and small Kufr. Small Kufr is to be ungrateful with the good things Allah Ta’Ala Gave us and it doesn’t throw a person out of Islam. The Evidence is in Surah Nahl in Ayah 112. Big Kufr throws one out of Islam and it is of 5 parts: (1) Kufr of lying is to lie about Allah Ta’Ala and about His Religion. The Evidence is in Surah Ankabut in Ayah 68. (2) Kufr of rejecting is to be proud of rejecting the Truth with being honest about it and believing that because of the person’s pride in rejecting Allah Ta'Ala’s Religion, that person is right. The Evidence is in Surah Bakara in Ayah 34. (3) Kufr of Shirk is to  have doubt in Allah Ta’Ala’s Religion. The Evidence is Surah Kahf in Ayat 35 to 38. (4) Kufr of Rejecting the Truth, which is to reject Allah Ta’Ala’s Religion, the Real Truth. (5) Nifak, hypocrisy, (pretending to be Muslim), has two parts. The first part is in belief and it is to: 1). Lie about the Prophet, 2). To lie about anything that the Prophet brought, 3). To hate the Prophet, 4). To hate anything that the Prophet brought, 5). To rejoice at the putting down of the Religion of the Prophet, 6). To dislike the victory of the Religion of the Prophet. The second part is in deeds and it has 5 parts, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that a person who does that is a hypocrite, Munafik: 1). Lying 2). Breaking promises 3). Betraying 4). Cussing 5). Breaking agreements.
12.	The first pillar of Islam is to say that there is no deity worthy of worship other than Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Here we start with rejecting false deities, which is to reject Taghut. Taghut is everything that is given a higher level than what it deserves. There are many types of Taghut but the main ones are 5: (1) Sheytan Lanatullahi aleyh, (2) a person who is being worshipped and is happy with it, (3) a person calling others to oneself’s worship (4) a person claiming to have knowledge of Ilmu l’Ghayb (the unseen, such as people in Jennah and Jehennem). (5) a person not ruling by Allah Ta’Ala’s Laws but instead with other laws. This does not include a person who believes in Allah Ta’Ala’s Laws but for whatever the reason may be, doesn’t implement them.
	SECTION 4
13.	When we bare witness that there is no deity worthy of worship other than Allah we accept that Allah is One, Tawhid in Arabic. Tawhid is of three parts: (1). Tawhidu r’Rububiyah, which is Allah Ta'Ala’s Action upon us; He Created us, He keeps us in existence and He is in control of us and everything we do. (2) Tawhidu l’Uluhiya, which is our action towards Allah Ta’Ala, is that we worship Him only and all our worship is directed to Him only (only Muslims have Tawhidu l’Uluhiyah). (3) Tawhidu l’Asmaa wa l’Sifaat, the Oneness of Allah in His Names and Attributes; when one of Allah Ta’Ala’s Names stands by Itself it is called His Name, Ism, and if it stand next to another one of His Names, then it is one of His Attributes, Sifa. We accept all of Allah Ta’Ala’s Names and Attributes without trying to compare any of them to His creation and without trying to change the meaning of any of them to mean something else, we accept them as they are.
14.	When we bare witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah we say that we are going to follow Prophet Muhammed Salallahu Aleyhi wa Sallam which is called Ittiba’a. When we learn from our teachers and scholars we do not say: "Teach me Wudu and Salah." Instead we say: "Teach me the Wudu and Salah of the Prophet Salallahu Aleyhi wa Sallam." We do not follow blindly without asking for Evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah. Blind following is called Taklid and the one doing it a Mukalid. One has to be a Mutabie following and asking for the Evidence in the Qur’an and Sunnah and not a Mukalid, blindly following and imitating a teacher or a scholar. Taklid is of many types and all are unacceptable. The worst Taklid is to follow blindly without asking for Evidence from the Qur'an and Sunnah. Another type of Taklid is to follow a scholar and to look into the Evidence he has from the Qur'an and Sunnah, but to continue to follow him when his evidence is weaker than that of other scholars or when he is mistaken. Another type of Taklid and an unacceptable thing to do, is when one's scholar has conclusions on an issue equally strong as the conclusions of another scholar and to follow one's scholar on the basis of whims such as nationalism, rather than looking at which of the scholars has a more correct approach.
15.	The last Pillar of Iman is to believe in Qadr, fate, be it good or bad. Qadr is related to Allah Ta’Ala’s Will, Iradah. There is Allah Ta’Ala’s Will by which He Created everything and Keeps everything in existence, Irada Qawniyah. Qawn is all of Creation. Allah Ta’Ala wants us to obey Him and to go to Jennah and that Will of His is called Iradah Sharaiyah. Shariyah means law. With the Iradah Qawniyah Allah Ta’Ala has Created Everything, and Keeps everything in existence, be it good or bad. With His Iradah Qawniyah He has Given us the ability to choose between good or bad and He Keeps  in existence us as well as our ability to choose between doing good or bad. To say that Allah Ta’Ala Has no power over our ability to choose between good or bad is to deny His Iradah Qawniyah. To say that we cannot choose between good or bad and that Allah Ta’Ala forces on us our good or bad deeds is to deny His Iradah Sharaiyah with which He wants us to obey Him and to go to Jennah.
16.	For every human our enemy Sheytan Lanatullahi aleyh has prepared seven obstacles; when the human passes one, the next obstacle is on the way, till the last seventh obstacle. These obstacles are: 1).Shirk, 2).Bida'a (to innovate in Religion), 3).Kabirah(great sin), 4).Saghira(small sin), 5).Mubahaat(deeds that are neither good deeds nor bad deeds), 6).To do a smaller good deed instead of the greatest possible good deed, Sheytan Lanatullahi aleyh opens up 99 doors of good for a person, trying to lure him into a 100th door of evil, 7).If a person aims to do the greatest possible deed, Sheytan Lanatullahi aleyh calls all his soldiers from jinn and man to stop that person and that person is in Jihad till death. May Allah Ta’Ala Help us all. Done on the night of the 27th day of Ramadan 1426 H. in Dishkenzibi, Anishinabek country (Ontario, Canada) Go to point: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13 14 15 16

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